Sound detecting apparatus



Y 1936. H. c. HAYES SOUND DETECTING APPARATUS Filed May 27; 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mevzv amYZ-s INV ENTOR BY W ATTORNEY y 26, 1936. 'H, C H YE 2,041,710

SOUND DETECTING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I-MEVEYG HHYES INVENTOR wawr 'H/S ATTORNEY Patented May 26, 1936 STATES @FFiCE 1 Claim.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) My invention relates to apparatus for detecting vibrations and more particularly to apparatus for detecting vibrations caused by sound or compressional waves traveling through the air or some solid medium such as the earth.

Heretofore sound detecting apparatus designed for the above purpose has either been constructed along the principles of the microphone or has involved some type of magneto electric construction; that is, one in which a variation of magnetic flux cutting across a coil or similar conductor is made to induce a current therein in response to a vibration caused by the passage of 1 compressional or sound waves through the medium. The difliculty with devices of this character in the past has been that the electrical effects produced by virtue of the sound or other compressional waves striking the detector have been quite feeble and have required considerable amplification before being transmitted to a suitable indicating or recording apparatus such as a galvanometer or an oscillograph. While suitable amplifying units embodying multi-stage vacuum tube amplifiers have been available for this purpose, these units have been subject to the atmospheric disturbances commonly known as static, and at certain seasons of the year this static effect has been so great as to render the detectors completely useless. This is for the reason that the amplifying units have served to amplify the static effects in the same ratio that the impulses set up by the detector have been amplified.

A primary object of the present invention has been to devise sound detecting apparatus which is free from the interferences of such static conditions and which is sensitive to extremely weak vibrations. Another object of the invention has been to devise sound or vibration detecting apparatus which involves a minimum number of elements. To these ends the present invention contemplates the creation of a sufiiciently large electrical disturbance upon the operation of the detector itself as to make it possible to dispense with all or most of the amplification. The electrical apparatus necessary in carrying out the invention is much lighter, simpler, cheaper and more stable than is the ordinary multi-stage amplifier. Furthermore, the invention lends itself particularly well to the detection of low frequency vibrations such as are met with in geophysical exploration work.

In accordance with m invention I have provided apparatus wherein extremely slight vibrations in a medium such as the earth, tend to cause a difierential change in frequency in two oscillating tube circuits having normally the same frequency and coupled to a single detector tube, so that the detector tube circuit will respond to the beats produced through this change in frequency or unbalancing of the two oscillating circuits and thus give an indication of the earth vibrations.

In further carrying out my invention, I have provided an electrostatic sound detecting device connected in one or both of the oscillating tube circuits and directly responsive to vibrations caused by sound waves or other waves of a like nature.

For a more complete understanding of my invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of an electrostatic sound detecting device embodying one form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan View taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, part of the detector being broken away to more clearly illustrate the construction thereof; Fig. 3 is a schematic wiring diagram of my apparatus, while Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram of a modified form of my invention.

Referringto the drawings and more particularly to'Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, I have provided a casing I0 adapted to be buried or otherwise anchored in the ground so that it will be responsive to slight movements or vibrations of the ground, such for instance as those which might be produced by the passage through the ground of sound or compressional waves of a like nature. The casing is provided with a cover member H, securely attached to the casing Ill by suitable screws HE. A ledge I3 is formed on the inner surface of the casing and to this ledge is rigidly secured by means of suitable screws M. an annular block iii of electrically insulating material. The annular block it comprises a cylindrical portion 16 and outer and inner radial flanges H and I8 respectively, the screws l4 passing through the outer radial flange H. To opposite sides of the inner radial flange l8 of the insulating block I5 are secured a pair of ringshaped metallic plates I9 and 20 by means of suitable screws 2|. It will be observed that the metallic plates l9 and 20 are insulated from each other and also that they are parallel throughout their entire surfaces. These ringshaped plates l9 and 20 form the fixed plates of a pair of variable condensers, as will be described more clearly hereinafter. A metallic, ,discshaped inertia member 22 having hub-like projections 23 and 24 is resiliently suspended between a pair of flexible metallic discs 25 and 28 and these discs are in turn secured around their circumferences to the cylindrical portion ii of the insulating block IS. The disc-shaped inertia member 22 when suspended between the dia-'- phragms 25 and 26 is positioned between the ring-shaped plates l9 and 29 so that the distance between the inertia member and the plate l9 will normally be the same as the distance between the inertia member and the plate 20. It will be observed that two electrical condensers are thus formed, one condenser comprising the inertia disc 22 and the ring-shaped plate l9, while the other condenser comprises the inertia disc 22 and the ring-shaped plate 20. Electrical connecting leads 2! are secured to each of the ring-shaped plates l9 and 20 and to the inertia member 22 through the diaphragm 25. These connecting leads pass outwardly from the casing through a stuiling box28 provided with a suitable packing 29.

It will now be seen that if the inertia disc 22 is properly centered between the plates l9 and 20 in a vertical direction, the two condensers will have substantially equal capacity. If the casing in is moved up and down, for instance by sound vibrations or otherwise, the inertia disc 22 will tend to remain stationary and the capacity of the two condensers will vary because of the variation in the length of the air gaps between the inertia disc and the condenser plates I9 and 20, and it is obvious that the two condensers always change capacity in opposite directions, one increasing as the other decreases. ity changes will be produced by a passing seismic wave when the casing I0 is buried or otherwise anchored to the ground.

Suppose now that one condenser forms a part of the capacity of an oscillating tube circuit'and the other condenser forms a part of a second similar oscillating tube circuit, and suppose these two-circuits are arranged through an inductive or other type of coupling to feed through a common detector tube. The output, from this detector tube will reproduce the beats between the two circuits and if, in an undisturbed state, the two oscillatory circuits are of equal frequency, the output from the detector tube will show no beats. However any sound disturbance striking the sound detector will cause the casing l0 to move or vibrate slightly and the relative capacity of the two condensers will be changed, thus making the frequencies of the two oscillatory circuits differ and producing beats in the detector tube circuit, the frequency of which, or rather the change of frequency of which will be a measure of the intensity of the sound waves. can be heard by connecting a phone in the detector tube plate circuit either directly or indirectly or they can be registered or recorded by substituting a sensitive galvanometer for the phone.

In Fig. 3, I have illustrated a schematic diagram showing the use of my sound detector. Two individual oscillating tube circuits are provided, these circuits containing respectively the tubes 30 and 3|, and in the plate circuits of the tubes the inductances 32 and 33. The sound detector illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is represented in Pig. 3 by the circle 34 within which the inertia disc 22 'is schematically illustrated as being located between the ring-shaped plates is and 20. The oscillating tube circuit at the left contains condenser l3-22 and the oscillating tube circuit at the right contains the condenser 22-22 and These capac-' The beats instance in the positioning of the inertia disc 22 between the condenser plates l9 and 20, I have provided two small variable condensers 35 and 36, the rotors of which are preferably operated by 10 the same dial knob and relatively oriented so that one increases its capacity and the other decreases its capacity as the knob is rotated. These two condensers 35 and 36 are connected in parallel to the condensers Iii-22 and 20-22 and it is 15 thus obvious that the frequency of the two circuits can be separated or brought to equality by this single adjustment. In other words the beats between the two oscillating circuits can be readily varied or adjusted to zero value by the single adjustment of the knob controlling the small condensers 35 and 36. The two oscillating tube circuits contain small regenerative pickup coils 31 and 38 and a C battery 39 in accordance with standard practice. A coil 40 is inductively coupled with the inductance coils 32 and 33 of each circuit and the voltage pickup of this coil 40 actuates the grid of the detector tube 4|, the plate circuit of which carries the primary 42 of an audio-transformer 43, the secondary 44 of which 30 may be connected to a phone, or to a galvanometer if desired.

It is obvious that the higher the frequency of the two oscillatory circuits the less differential capacity change in the condensers I3-22 and 35 20-22 is required to produce a change in the beat frequency, and as 'a result the sensitivity is increased as the frequency of the two oscillatory circuits is increased.

In place of the differential scheme, wherein 40 the sound waves produce an increase in frequency in one oscillatory circuit and a corresponding de crease in frequency in the other oscillatory circult to give beats, one oscillatory circuit can be made independent of the sound detector and 45 maintained at a fixed frequency by a piezo-electric control or otherwise, and the other oscillatory circuit which contains a condenser such as l9-22 or 20-22 made to beat with it through a detector tube circuit as described.

In Fig. 4, I have shown a schematic wiring diagram of apparatus connected as proposed in the preceding paragraph in which a piezo-electric crystal 46 is adapted to control and maintain a steady or constant frequency of an oscillator 41. A variable condenser 43 serves to tune the plate circuit of the oscillator 41 to the frequency of the crystal 46. A second oscillator 43 has its frequency determined by a small variable condenser 50 and also by the variable capacity of a condenser il, the capacity of this latter condenser being variable in response to sound waves or ground vibrations. Theplate 52 of the condenser 5| may be an inertia element similar to the element 22 of Fig. 1 while the plate 53 corresponds to either one of the ring-shaped plates I! or 22 of Fig. 1. In Fig. 4 the inductances 32', 33', 31', 33' and 40' and the C battery 39' correspond respectively to the inductances 32, 33, 31, 23 and 42 and C battery" of the circuit shown in Fig. 3. A coil 42' is inductively coupled with the inductance coils 22" and ll'connected respectively in circuit with the crystal-controlled oscillator 41 and the oscillator 43 the frequency of which varies in response to changes in capacity of the con- 76 lenser 5i, and the voltage of this coil 40' actultes the grid of a detector tube M, the plate cir- :uit of which carries the primary 42 of an audioransformer 43', the secondary M of which may )e connected to a phone, or to a galvanometer if iesired in a manner similar to that heretofore iescribed with reference to Fig. 3. An advantage ierived in an arrangement of this kind through :he use of a constant frequency combined with a frequency varied by the sound detecting device lies in the fact that less shielding difliculties will 0e presented. I

It would also be possible to carry out the method with but two tubes, one in each oscillatory circuit but employing one of the tubes as both an oscillator and a detector as in autodyne radio reception.

While I have described my invention as embodied in concrete form and operating in a specific manner in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, it should be understood that I do not limit my invention thereto, since various modifications thereof will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claim.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or. for the Government of the United States for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

What I claim is:

In a. vibration detecting apparatus, a pair of oscillating tube circuits having normally the same frequency, each of said tube circuits including an inductance in its plate circuit, a pair of variable condensers having normally equal capacities, means for oppositely varying the capacities of a said condensers in accordance with sound wave vibrations, each of said condensers being connected across said inductance in one of the tube circuits, a detector tube circuit inductively coupled with said oscillating tube circuits so as to indicate the beats producedbydifferential changes in frequency in said oscillating tube circuits and means for initially bringing said oscillating tube circuits to the same frequency, comprising a second variable condenser connected in each of said oscillating tube circuits. 

